Local Officials Mock, Reverse Decision on State of Jefferson

The Lake County Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday to remove prior support for a 2016 “State of Jefferson” ballot measure.

District 3 Supervisor Jim Steele added a note of mockery when, in a forceful move, he stationed a state of California flag on his desk. The Record Beereported that the action was met with “cheers and laughter from the crowd.” An abnormally large audience was present.

Anthony Farrington, District 4 Supervisor and board Chair, claimed the board had reversed its March 3 approval of the ballot measure due to a lack of “clear and competent financial analysis” for the proposal.

Jefferson supporters present at the meeting dismissed the influence of the Board in progress on the State of Jefferson.

Keep It California–an anti-Jefferson group with just over 700 likes–celebrated the decision, calling it “great news for local activists who will now be able to concentrate on fire recovery instead of being sidetracked into a divisive ballot measure campaign.”

The State of Jefferson Party–a pro-Jefferson group with almost 10,000 Facebook likes–expressed disappointment, saying that the board had “chosen to actively oppose the will of the people.”

In August of 2014, California’s Modoc and Siskiyou counties petitioned the state legislature for permission to succeed from California. State of Jefferson organizer Mark Baird announced to supporters at a rally on Capitol steps that with approval as many as 10 counties, they “would be free to create a small state with limited government….We don’t need government from a state telling people in a county what to do with their resources and their children’s education. You are better equipped to educate your children than the state or federal government.”